Chef through to semi-finals of acclaimed contest
BBCA chef from Devon is through to the semi-finals of a prestigious cooking competition.
Harrison Brockington, head chef at Gather in Totnes, reached the next stage of the Roux Scholarship after the first round of blind judging.
The contest is billed as "the most acclaimed chef competition in the UK" and the semi-finals are due to be held in Birmingham on Thursday.
The 28-year-old, who won South West Chef of the Year 2024, described the event as the "chefs' competition". "You've got all the big names judging - it's intimidating and scary," he said.
At the semi-finals, Brockington will have two-and-a-half hours to complete his dish which must contain Devon White Chicken, chicken liver and leeks.
The first round saw the entrants make their dish before providing a recipe and pictures of it to the judges, who read through it without knowing who made it.
Brockington dressed his dish with stuffed morels, wild garlic and a jus.
The winner of the competition will be invited to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef anywhere in the world for up to two months.
Brockington, who completed his training at the Michael Caines Academy in Exeter, said he had been working in a kitchen since he was 14 but he still felt a lot of pressure participating in the contest.
The 18 semi-finalists, all aged between 22 and 30, will be judged by chefs including Michel Roux Jnr, Angela Hartnett, James Martin, and Torquay chef and previous winner Simon Hulstone.
Hulstone, from the Michelin star restaurant The Elephant, won the competition in 2003.
To make sure the process was fair, Hulstone left before Harrison started making his dish to keep it secret.
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